A delicious-tasting treat isn’t always created by following directions. A Boothbay baker created her own sweet treat after allowing ingredients to overheat.

Sara Fahnley was preparing peanut butter crunchies when she received a phone call. While cooking, she struggled to stir ingredients and speak into the receiver. This resulted in her letting the mixture come up to temperature and remove it from the heat. Within seconds, it solidified like quick cement.

The disaster turned into delight when she added chocolate to the ill-fated concoction. She served it to her husband who responded, “What is this? It looks like a hedgehog.”

The new creation turned out to be delicious and the “hedgehog” along with English toffee, almond brittle, caramels, almond buttercrunch, caramels, almond brittle, peppermint bark, and nonpareils are among the handmade sweets sold locally by Fahnley’s business, And Candy Too!

The business is located in her kitchen at home. Fahnley’s products are sold in several Boothbay region stores including Oak Street Provisions, Merry Auld Market and Robinson’s Gift Shop. In 2009, Fahnley began thinking about starting the business. She was between jobs and began compiling a list of things she could do. Cooking and baking jumped to the top.

She began the business in 2010. She began selling her assortment of baked goods, candies and jams at the local Farmer’s Market before finding another avenue in local shops. She sought advice on what to call her new venture. An internet article recommended not using a location in the name. She also wanted to find something that identified her business without causing confusion with another local business.

So Fahnley reviewed the list she had compiled in her notebook. Suddenly, the right name came to her.  “I can do all these things and more. So I decided And Candy Too! That was it.”

Fahnley and her taste-testing husband, John, moved to Boothbay in 1989. They previously lived in Long Island, New York, but 28 years ago they wanted to move to either Maine or South Carolina. John’s grandparents lived in East Boothbay and, according to Sara, “he was visiting Farnham’s Point before he was born.” Sara preferred warmer weather and had relatives in South Carolina. The couple flipped a coin and Sara won. They were moving to South Carolina until John received some bad news. In May 1989, John’s mother broke her hip and the couple came to Maine to care for her.

“That changed everything. I really loved it here so we decided to move here. I’m not sure I’d made the same decision if we were here in February, though,” she said.

Fahnley worked in finance for 20 years as a credit representative and accounts payable clerk. When she looked for a new career eight years ago, Fahnley wanted a profession which used her imagination.

“My business is my creative outlet. There is nothing I won’t try. If someone asks if I can do this I will definitely try.”

But as a businesswoman, there are some projects she won’t accept. Fahnley won’t bake a wedding cake or make a chocolate mold. “I made a wedding cake 35 years ago and it’s too much work because it’s something you really have to get right in making it special,” she said.

But she will consider special orders for cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, muffins, cookies and soft pretzels. Her homemade non-candy treats sold in local stores include granola bars, roasted chick peas, fruit rolls, apple chips, spicy snack mix and crackers.

Food preparation isn’t just her job. It’s also a hobby. Fahnley bakes her own bread and makes pizza, ginger ale and tonic water.

The business has its own Facebook page and website andcandytoo!.com. Fahnley can also be reached at 633-4813.